Article Sidebar
Published:
Dec 31, 2020Keywords:
Article Details
NAJ supports free online communication and exchange of knowledge as the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of research and development practice are made widely available. It is therefore committed to open access, which, for authors, enables the widest possible dissemination of their findings and, for readers, increases their ability to discover pertinent information. The Journal adopts and uses the CC: BY license and is open access. This license lets others distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the Journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Copyright for articles published in this Journal is retained by the Journal.
Main Article Content
EFFECT OF FERTILIZER TYPES ON SOIL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES, ROOT YIELD AND β-CAROTENE CONTENT OF ORANGE FLESHED SWEETPOTATO AT UMUDIKE, SOUTH-EAST NIGERIA
Abstract
This study was conducted at the Research Farm of National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) Umudike to
evaluate the effect of composite manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemical properties, root yield and β-
Carotene content of orange fleshed sweetpotato. The experiment was a 5x4 factorial laid out in randomized
complete design (RCBD). The treatment comprised of five levels of composite manure (Pig manure, cowdung
and poultry manure) applied at the rate of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8t/ha and mineral fertilizer (NPK 15:15:15) at 0, 200, 400
and 600kg/ha, and replicated three times. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) by the
use of GENSTAT software package and treatment means separated using Fisher's Significant Different (LSD) at
5% level of probability. Results of the study showed that all the soil chemical properties studied were
significantly (p<0.05) improved by application of composite manure. Application of mineral fertilizer singly,
significantly improved available P, Exchangeable K, total N and percentage base saturation. The interaction of
composite manure and mineral fertilizer significantly improved the organic matter, exchangeable calcium and
effective cation exchange capacity of the soil relative to the control. Combined application of mineral fertilizer
and composite manure significantly (p<0.05) increased the root yield of orange fleshed sweetpotato with
application of 4t/ha composite manure + 400kg/ha mineral fertilizer, giving the highest total root yield of
15.90t/ha. The β-carotene content of the orange fleshed sweetpotato increased generally with increasing rate of
the treatment combinations with application of 8t/ha composite manure + 200kg/ha mineral fertilizer giving the
highest β-carotene content of 733.2μg/g. From the results obtained, application of 4t/ha composite manure +
400kg/ha mineral fertilizer is recommended for good root yield, while application of 8t/ha composite manure +
200kg/ha mineral fertilizer is recommended for farmers who wish to enhance the β-carotene content.
